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NRMA PATROLS AND STAFF have
continued to help drought-stricken
farmers across western NSW by
rolling their sleeves up and spending
time volunteering with local farms
and communities.
Most recently, Sydney NRMA Patrols
David Scott, Enzo Leto and Joe LaHoud
put their mechanical skills to use on a
farm at Walgett in far north-western
NSW. Their trip was one of three that
NRMA Patrols took over summer to the
Walgett shire, which had only just
experienced its first harvest season
following four years of drought.
Trip team leader David Scott, who
works in the north-west region in Sydney,
says it was a part of the NRMA spirit to
volunteer. “ They’re in strife up there so
they need a helping hand, and being with
the NRMA is all about helping people,
especially a lot of our Members who are
in the country,” Mr Scott says.
“ People in the country have their good
times and their bad times, so we want to
put some of our energy into helping them
through those bad times.”
Mr Scott, who has also been on six trips
to help farming communities located
around Lightning Ridge, says the
gratitude received from farmers could
not be measured.
“ Sometimes farmers are so busy they
don’t see other people for six weeks at a
time so it’s not just about fixing the big
tractors and mechanical machinery, it
can be sitting down and having a cuppa
that can help,” Mr Scott says.
Mr Scott has helped fix a windmill that
had been broken for two years and not
delivered fresh to a farmhouse in all that
time. He has also fixed a broken water
heater that had meant a family hadn’t
had hot water for just as long.
“One farmer said it was so nice to have
someone arrive who was giving rather
than taking, and that it was nice to know
someone cared,” Mr Scott says.
NRMA Western NSW Director Fiona
Simson says relief is rare for farmers
affected by drought. “ Farmers in parts
of NSW are in crisis, with little relief in
sight. The NRMA’s ethos was founded
on helping others, and it’s clear that
mentality remains strong among
staff who participate in this program,”
Ms Simson says.
NRMA Patrols and car servicing
mechanics have volunteered on more
than 40 farms throughout Lightning
Ridge and Walgett since 2014, as part of
the Outback Links program.
Volunteers support farmers in need
Walgett and Lightning Ridge farms have been struggling a little bit less thanks to the NRMA’s volunteers
“They’re in strife up
there so they need
a helping hand”
MAY/JUNE 2017
Drought conditions have hit
Walgett farms hard.
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